Press Release

In this series Hill drew inspiration from the 15th century Flemish renaissance style portraiture while incorporating the contemporary subject matter creating a contrasting vision of the modern world.

Inspiration came from a love of the fashions captured in the tradition of 15th century portraiture and the aesthetic created by the rich fabrics and elaborate dresses. Finding modern fashions to capture the same impact Hill drew from the sub culture movements, such as punk and bohemian.

Hill begins with an original master portrait which is manipulated digitally to create the structure for her piece. She then uses a model to provide the modern fashion references often having her subject hold an object. Unlike the master works which used the objects held as status symbols, Amy choses objects that relate more to the materialistic nature of our modern culture. Once the image has been constructed digitally, a combination of the original works and her photographed model, she paints the image in oil on wood board. By constructing images in such a way hill has fabricated a fictional subject but through the decoration and attire she maintains the sense of authenticity and familiarity.

In this collection, Hill has utilized the aesthetic of both the classical and the modern in a format that compels the viewer to contrast contemporary and traditional notions of status and beauty.

Amy Hill graduated from Carnegie Melon in graphic design. She lives and works in New York City, New York. Her work has appeared in galleries in New York and across the country.